TimesPulse

The most popular movies among NYTimes.com readers.

Review Summary

This videotaped version of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning play Our Town stars Hal Holbrook as the Stage Manager. Acting as narrator and assuming several different interlocutory roles throughout the production, Holbrook shows us life in Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, in the first few years of the 20th century. The focus is on the romance and marriage of Emily Webb (Glynnis O'Connor) and George Gibbs (Robby Benson); the play ends at Emily's funeral, with the girl's spirit commenting detachedly on the miracle of life. In keeping with Wilder's stage directions, the play is enacted on a bare stage with minimal props, allowing the audience to fill in the rest with imagination. Also starring Ned Beatty, Sada Thompson, Ronny Cox and Barbara Bel Geddes, this TV adaptation of Our Town originally aired May 30, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi